An Interetisng Link

[LuisPaulo]

I think it is interesting. Not the sheath construction, but the embossing (??)

It seems he uses no beveleing tool. Only a blunt tool ?

Not a so great work, but I like the Thundercat...lol

the sheath

[drphil]

I think they look pretty nice! They need some work on the edges. One thing EVERY project should have is nice edges. They make or break a project in my opinion. Those fancy letters look to be done with a scratch awl. I have never done any projects using a scratch awl in that manner, but I suppose it could be used to make a design. The darkening of the letters looks great though, I dont think I could get that specific with just a paint brush. Maybe he used a small sharpie . . .? Anyway, looks like a good break down of making a sheath, if only I could read the comments/instructions lol

[Spinner]

The embossing looks like the Danish/Scandanavian technique of "pauting". It's basically doing everything with modeling tools with a special kind of leather (Semi-tanned or half-tanned). Here's an article that talks about doing basic pauting (translated), he shows the tools and technique about 1/2 way down the page. Be prepared though, the word sheath translates strangely...you'll see what I mean.

[HellfireJack]

I know Google did it but that's a pretty funny translation Spinner. We may have to move this to the adult section.

[DuaneBallard]

That's one of the greatest translations ever!

[LuisPaulo]

Sounds great translating to portuguese too...lol

[WyomingSlick]

Any way you slice it. I am totally impressed by what the man does with simple tools. Doesn't it kind of remind you of Al Stohlman relating his early days, when he was making leather art with a pocket knife and some tools made out of nails?

[LuisPaulo]

  On 9/7/2011 at 6:38 PM, Spinner said:

The embossing looks like the Danish/Scandanavian technique of "pauting". It's basically doing everything with modeling tools with a special kind of leather (Semi-tanned or half-tanned). Here's an article that talks about doing basic pauting (translated), he shows the tools and technique about 1/2 way down the page. Be prepared though, the word sheath translates strangely...you'll see what I mean.

Does this technique work on vegtan leather ?

I want to make a try...

[Spinner]

  On 9/9/2011 at 2:22 AM, LuisPaulo said:

Does this technique work on vegtan leather ?

I want to make a try...

Similar, but not quite the same. The leather he is using is called semi-tanned or half-tanned leather. From what I can gather from talking to Tannery folks here in the US, the leather is stopped part way through the normal tanning process so that the center core of the hide remains untanned rawhide.

So when the leather is soaked all the way through and then worked, they are actually pushing the rawhide core around and building it up to create hills whereas with veg-tan tooling we are creating and working with the valleys by depressing. Once the hills are adequate for the detail needed, then they work the details into the leather.

I bought a piece of the semi-tanned leather from a shop in Germany to give it a try and let me tell you it's much more different from our method of using modelling spoons that I imagined it would be. It takes a bit of practice just to build up enough core material into a hill, getting it to stay and then working that same hill into details without pushing the core material back out of it.